Game providing apparatus and recording medium

ABSTRACT

A game providing apparatus connected to a terminal device to be capable of having communication with the terminal device to provide a game in which a player selects a plurality of characters to participate in the game, includes a display image generation unit that synthesizes a plurality of character positioning areas at which a plurality of characters are to be positioned, respectively, and a plurality of characters positioned at the plurality of character positioning areas, respectively, to have the terminal device display the synthesized image; and a character selection unit that selects, when one of the characters is designated and a direction from the designated character having the designated character as a base point is designated by the terminal device, the designated character and the character positioned at the character positioning area that are in the designated direction, as a combination of characters to actually participate in the battle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/024,747 filed on Sep. 12, 2013, which claims thebenefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-250195 filedon Nov. 14, 2012, where the entire contents of both of theseapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a game providing apparatus and arecording medium.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, in a battle scene in a role-playing game (RPG) or thelike, a player (user) may select in advance characters to participate ina battle from a character list of characters possessed by the player, ormay select characters to participate in the battle for each battle (oreach battle turn in the battle) (see Patent Document 1, for example).

Here, if friend (ally) characters to participate in the battle arechosen in advance of the battle, suitable friend characters cannot beselected according to the enemy characters to be fought against, thestatuses of friend characters that have changed due to the battle cannotbe taken into account, and the game becomes one in which battle strategyis lacking.

On the other hand, if the friend characters to participate in the battleare selected for each of the battles, it is possible for the player toadvance the battle with various strategies as the player can select thefriend characters to participate in the battle for each of the battles.

However, if the friend characters are selected for each of the battles,the battle is interrupted while selecting the friend characters. Thus,the sense of being engaged or immersed in the battle scene may be lost.

Further, in a case where the player fights the battle with anotherplayer in an on-line game in which the player plays a game while havingcommunication with other players, the other players have to wait whilethe player is selecting the characters to participate in the battle.Thus, the player has to select the characters within a short period inorder not to have the other players wait, so that it is difficult forthe player to select the characters with various strategies.

Further, recently, there are a lot of battle games in which a pluralityof friend characters can participate in a battle. Thus, the period forselecting the plurality of friend characters becomes longer.

Patent Document [Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open PatentPublication No. 2012-040059 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is made in light of the above problems, andprovides a game providing apparatus and a recording medium by which aplayer can strategically select characters within a short period.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a programthat causes a computer, which is a terminal device connected to a gameproviding apparatus to be capable of having communication with the gameproviding apparatus to perform a game in which a player selects aplurality of characters to participate in the game, to execute functionsincluding: a screen display function that displays a plurality ofcharacter positioning areas at which a plurality of characters are to bepositioned, respectively, and a plurality of characters positioned atthe plurality of character positioning areas, respectively; and acharacter selection function that selects, when one of the characters isdesignated and a direction from the designated character having thedesignated character as a base point is designated, the designatedcharacter and the character positioned at the character positioning areathat are in the designated direction, as a combination of characters toactually participate in the battle.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a game providingapparatus connected to a terminal device to be capable of havingcommunication with the terminal device to provide a game in which aplayer selects a plurality of characters to participate in the game,including: a display image generation unit that synthesizes a pluralityof character positioning areas at which a plurality of characters are tobe positioned, respectively, and a plurality of characters positioned atthe plurality of character positioning areas, respectively, to have theterminal device display the synthesized image; and a character selectionunit that selects, when one of the characters is designated and adirection from the designated character having the designated characteras a base point is designated by the terminal device, the designatedcharacter and the character positioned at the character positioning areathat are in the designated direction, as a combination of characters toactually participate in the battle.

Note that also arbitrary combinations of the above-described elements,and any changes of expressions in the present invention, made amongmethods, devices, systems, recording media, computer programs and soforth, are valid as embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a structure of asystem of an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwarestructure of a terminal device;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwarestructure of a game processing server;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functionalstructure of the terminal device and the game processing server of theembodiment;

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are respective views illustrating an example of adata structure of player information of the embodiment;

FIG. 6A is a view illustrating an example of predetermined characterpositioning areas at which candidate characters to participate in abattle are positioned;

FIG. 6B is a view illustrating an example of a table for storingcandidate characters positioned at the character positioning areas,respectively, to participate in a battle;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an example of a character positioningscreen;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating an example of a possessing character list;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating another example of the characterpositioning screen;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating another example of the characterpositioning screen;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an example of a character selectionscreen;

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating an example of another character selectionscreen;

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an example of another character selectionscreen;

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating an example of another character selectionscreen;

FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B are views illustrating an example of characterselection screens, respectively;

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation ofthe embodiment for an application type;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a functionalstructure of the terminal device and the game processing server;

FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation ofthe embodiment for a browser type;

FIG. 19A to FIG. 19C are respective views illustrating alternativeexamples of character positioning areas; and

FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B are respective views illustrating alternativeexamples of the character positioning areas.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention will be described herein with reference to illustrativeembodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that manyalternative embodiments can be accomplished using the teachings of thepresent invention and that the invention is not limited to theembodiments illustrated for explanatory purposes.

It is to be noted that, in the explanation of the drawings, the samecomponents are given the same reference numerals, and explanations arenot repeated.

The present embodiment relates to a battle game in which a plurality ofcharacters on a player side and a plurality of enemy characters fight ateam battle until all of the characters on either side are beaten (oruntil a predetermined turn), as is often seen in a role-playing game(RPG). According to the battle game of the embodiment, a battle isstarted when a player meets an enemy in the battle game and selects aplurality of friend characters to participate in the battle among friendcharacters possessed by the player.

Although the player is capable of increasing the number of the friendcharacters by increasing friends in a game story, adding friendcharacter cards or the like, the number of the friend characters thatcan participate in each battle is limited by a game rule. The number ofthe friend characters that can participate in each battle may be three,for example. Thus, it is necessary for the player to strategicallyselect the friend characters to participate in the battle according tothe enemy characters, in order to advantageously fight the battle.

Here, if each of the plurality of friend characters to participate inthe battle is selected for each of the battles, the battle isinterrupted while selecting the friend characters. Thus, the sense ofbeing engaged or immersed in the battle scene may be lost. Further, whenthe player fights against another player in an on-line game or the like,the other player has to wait while the player is selecting the friendcharacters to participate in the battle.

As such, in a battle game in which a plurality of characters fight ateam battle, while it is necessary for a player to strategically selectfriend characters to participate in the battle in order toadvantageously fight the battle, it is also necessary for the player toselect the friend characters to participate in the battle within aperiod as short as possible in order to reduce the selection time.

Thus, according to the battle game of the embodiment, a player canstrategically select friend characters to participate in a battle withina short period, as the friend characters can be easily selected whilethe battle in the battle game is being performed.

(Structure)

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a structure of asystem of the embodiment.

The system includes terminal devices (player terminals) 1 such as asmartphone, a mobile phone or the like possessed by a player of a game,an access point 2 such as a mobile station, a Wi-Fi station or the like,a network 3 such as INTERNET or the like, a social game processingserver (hereinafter, referred to as a game processing server) 4 thatmanages (controls) a game played by a plurality of players via thenetwork 3.

(Hardware)

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwarestructure of the terminal device 1.

The terminal device 1 includes a power source system 101, a main system102, a storing unit 106, an external port 107, a high frequency circuit108, an antenna 109, an audio circuit 110, a speaker 111, a microphone112, a proximity sensor 113, an I/O sub system 114, a touch paneldisplay system 118 (a touch type input unit), an optical sensor 119 andan input unit 120. The main system 102 includes a processor 103, amemory controller 104 and a peripheral interface 105. The I/O sub system114 includes a display controller 115, an optical sensor controller 116and an input controller 117.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwarestructure of the game processing server 4.

The game processing server 4 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)402, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 403, a Random Access Memory (RAM) 404, aNon-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) 405 and an Interface (I/F)406, which are connected to a system bus 401. The game processing server4 further includes an Input/Output Device (I/O) 407 such as a keyboard,a mouse, a monitor, a Compact Disk/Digital Versatile Disk (CD/DVD) driveor the like, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 408 and a Network Interface Card(NIC) 409, which are connected to the I/F 406, or the like.

(Function)

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functionalstructure of the terminal device 1 and the game processing server 4 ofthe embodiment.

(Terminal Device 1)

The terminal device 1 includes a player operation input unit 11, a gamelogic processing unit 12, a server accessing unit 13, a screen displayunit 14 and a character position setting data storing unit 15.

The player operation input unit 11 has a function to input (accept) anoperation of a player that operates the terminal device 1. As theterminal device 1 (a smartphone, for example) of the embodiment includesthe touch panel display system 118, as described above, a specific inputoperation such as tapping, swiping, flicking, pinching or the like maybe input by the player.

The game logic processing unit 12 has a function to process a game bytransitioning screens in accordance with an input operation of theplayer input by the player operation input unit 11. The game logicprocessing unit 12 may process the game logic based on an applicationthat is previously downloaded and installed in the terminal device 1(which is called application type). FIG. 4 illustrates a case of theapplication type. Alternatively, the game logic processing unit 12 mayprocess the game logic based on page data described in a Hyper TextMarkup Language (HTML) or the like and scripts or the like included inthe page data sent from the game processing server apparatus 4 (which iscalled browser type).

The game logic processing unit 12 includes a character position settingunit 121, an operation assistance line generation unit 122 and acharacter selection unit 123.

In this embodiment, a predetermined plurality of character positioningareas are provided in advance for positioning a plurality of candidatecharacters to participate in a battle, respectively. Then, the playerselects the plurality of candidate characters to participate in abattle, before starting the battle game. Thereafter, characters thatactually participate in each battle are selected from the candidatecharacters positioned at the character positioning areas, respectively,by the player, after the battle game is started.

The character positioning areas may be a matrix including 3×3 boxes. Atthis time, 9 candidate characters, at the maximum, may be selected.Then, for example, 3 characters, at the maximum, may be selected toactually participate in a battle.

The character position setting unit 121 has a function to position andset the plurality of candidate characters, which are selected by theplayer, at the predetermined plurality of predetermined characterpositioning areas, respectively.

When the player is to select the characters that actually participate ineach battle, the candidate characters positioned at the characterpositioning areas, respectively, are displayed on a screen of the screendisplay unit 14. Then, first, the player designates one of the candidatecharacters positioned at the character positioning areas, respectively.The candidate character designated by the player is referred to as a“designated character” hereinafter.

The operation assistance line generation unit 122 has a function togenerate an operation assistance line that extends along the designatedcharacter and on at least one of the character positioning areas atwhich another candidate character is positioned. The operationassistance line generation unit 122 also has a function to display thegenerated operation assistance line on a screen of the screen displayunit 14. The operation assistance line generation unit 122 generates aplurality of operation assistance lines when it is possible to draw aplurality of lines each extending along the designated character and onat least one of the character positioning areas at which anothercandidate character is positioned.

However, as will be explained later, the operation assistance line(s)may not be displayed in an alternative example.

After designating one of the candidate characters, the player designatesa direction from the designated character having the designatedcharacter as a base point. When the operation assistance line(s) aredisplayed, the player may follow one of the operation assistance line(s)to designate the direction. The direction designated by the player isreferred to as a “designated direction” hereinafter.

The character selection unit 123 has a function to select the designatedcharacter and one or more candidate characters positioned at thecharacter positioning areas that are on a line extending along thedesignated character in the designated direction, respectively. Thecombination of the designated character and the one or more candidatecharacters as selected above are referred to as a “selected combinationof characters to actually participate in the battle”. Here, the“character positioning areas that are on a line extending along thedesignated character in the designated direction” may include thecharacter positioning areas that are on a line extending along thedesignated character in a vicinity direction that is in the vicinity ofthe designated direction.

The candidate characters selected as the selected combination ofcharacters to actually participate in the battle (a plurality ofcharacters) become members of a team that participate in the battle.

The server accessing unit 13 has a function to send a request to thegame processing server 4 and receive a processed result or the like as aresponse from the game processing server 4 when it is necessary toaccess the game processing server 4 in a course of the processing by thegame logic processing unit 12.

The screen display unit 14 has a function to display screens of theterminal device 1 under control of the game logic processing unit 12.

The character position setting data storing unit 15 has a function tostore data used for character positioning or data used for generatingoperation assistance lines. The character position setting data storingunit 15 stores the predetermined plurality of character positioningareas, such as a matrix, for example.

(Game Processing Server 4)

The game processing server 4 includes a request processing unit 41, aplayer information management unit 42 and a player information database43.

The request processing unit 41 has a function to receive a request fromthe terminal device 1, process a corresponding process and send aprocessed result of the request to the terminal device 1 as a response.

The request processing unit 41 includes a display image generation unit411. The display image generation unit 411 generates various image datato be displayed at the terminal device 1.

Here, the response by the request processing unit 41 may include screeninformation that is to be operated by the player next, in addition tothe required processed result, for the browser type.

The player information database 43 stores various information of all ofthe players participating in the battle game. The player informationmanagement unit 42 has a function to manage the various informationstored in the player information database 43. Specifically, the playerinformation management unit 42 has a function to refer to and update theplayer information stored in the player information database 43 inresponse to the request from the request processing unit 41. An exampleof a data structure of the player information is explained later.

These functional units as described above are actualized by computerprograms executed on hardware resources such as the CPU, the ROM, theRAM or the like of the computers composing the apparatuses,respectively. Here, these functional units may be referred to as“means”, “modules”, “units” or “circuits”.

The functional units of the game processing server 1 may be provided ina single computer. Alternatively, the functional units of the gameprocessing server 1 may not be provided in a single computer and may bedistributed in a plurality of computers, if necessary. Further, forexample, databases or the like may systematically store predetermineddata on a recording medium such as a HDD or the like in a servercomputer. However, the databases may not be necessarily provided in theserver computer and may be provided in another computer.

(Player Information Database)

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are respective views illustrating an example of adata structure of the player information of the embodiment. The playerinformation is stored in the player information database 43.

Here, FIG. 5A is a view illustrating an example of a basic table of theplayer information. The basic table of the player information includesitems (fields) such as “player ID”, “player name, “status” and the like.FIG. 5B is a view illustrating an example of a possessing charactertable of the player information. The possessing character table of theplayer information includes items (fields) such as “player ID”,“possessing character ID”, “character name”, “character image”,“character strength” and the like.

In the basic table of the player information illustrated in FIG. 5A, the“player ID” is data to specify (identify) the player. The “player name”is data for a display name of the player. The status” is data expressinga progression degree of the game.

In the possessing character table of the player information illustratedin FIG. 5B, the “player ID” corresponds to the “player ID” illustratedin FIG. 5A and is data to specify the player who possesses therespective character.

The “possessing character ID” expresses ID of the friend characterpossessed by the respective player. The battle game of the embodimentrelates to a team battle in which the battle is performed by teams(three friend characters versus x enemy characters, for example). Thus,the player is capable of possessing a plurality of friend characters byincreasing friends in a game story, adding friend character cards or thelike.

The “character name” is data for a display name of the character. The“character image” is data (file) for displaying the character.

The “character strength” is data expressing an ability (a game effect)of the character in the game. For example, the “character strength”includes parameters such as level, HP (hit point), MP (magic point),offence, defense and the like. As the characters have differentabilities as such, the player can strategically enjoy the battle gamehaving diversity by selecting the friend characters having variousabilities to participate in each battle.

The player information illustrated in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B is just anexample. The player information may include items such as “possessingitem”, “armed item” or the like.

(Character Position Setting Data)

FIG. 6A is a view illustrating an example of the predetermined characterpositioning areas at which candidate characters to participate in abattle are positioned, before the battle game is started. The characterpositioning areas may be referred to as a “character board” or the like.

The character positioning areas exemplified here is a matrix including apredetermined number of boxes in a column direction and a predeterminednumber of boxes in a row direction. Specifically, the matrix includes3×3 boxes. The boxes of the matrix are respectively provided withidentifiers (1-a, 2-a, . . . , for example) for specifying each of theboxes. It is possible to position a single candidate character at eachof the boxes of the matrix. Thus, in this example, 9 candidatecharacters, at the maximum, can be positioned when all of the boxes ofthe matrix are used.

In this embodiment, the player selects candidate characters fromcharacters included in a possessing character list. Then, the playerpositions the selected characters at the boxes of the matrix,respectively, before starting the battle game. The candidate characterspositioned at the character positioning areas are candidates of thecharacter capable of actually participating in the battle. For example,three of the candidate characters actually participate in the battle.

In other words, according to the embodiment, the player selects inadvance and positions candidate characters to be participated in thebattle at the character positioning areas, respectively, before startingthe battle game. Then, when an actual battle is started by meeting anenemy character, for example, the player selects characters (three, forexample) to actually participate in the battle from the candidatecharacters positioned at the character positioning areas for each of thebattles (or each of turns).

FIG. 6B is a view illustrating an example of a table for storing thecandidate characters positioned at the character positioning areas,respectively, to participate in a battle. For example, the tableincludes items (fields) such as “box in matrix”, “positioned characterID”, “selectable combination” and the like.

The “box in matrix” corresponds to the identifier provided to the boxesof the matrix for specifying the positions of the characters positionedat the boxes of the matrix, respectively.

The “positioned character ID” indicates character ID of a candidatecharacter positioned at the respective box of the matrix.

When the player selects one of the characters as the candidate characterto be positioned at one of the boxes of the matrix, the character ID ofthe selected character is stored in association with the identifier ofthe respective box. FIG. 6B illustrates a status where the charactersare not positioned at the boxes of the matrix yet. Thus, “positionedcharacter ID” are empty.

In this embodiment, as described above, when an actual battle isstarted, a plurality of characters to actually participate in the battle(or a battle turn) are selected by the player from the candidatecharacters positioned at the character positioning areas.

The “selectable combination” indicates a combination of selectablecharacter positioning areas when the candidate character positioned atthe respective “box in matrix” is designated as the combination ofcharacters to actually participate in the battle.

In the “selectable combination”, combinations of the boxes positioned onlines extending in upper/lower, left/right and oblique directions fromthe respective box are defined as the selectable combinations for themembers to participate in the battle. For example, for the box providedwith identifier “1-a”, combinations of the boxes such as “1-a/2-a/3-a”,which are on a line extending in a right direction from the respectivebox, “1-a/1-b/1-c”, which are on a line extending in a lower directionfrom the respective box, and “1-a/2-b/3-c”, which are on a lineextending in an oblique direction from the respective box are defined.

As such, according to the present embodiment, when an actual battle isstarted, a plurality of characters to actually participate in the battle(or a battle turn) are selected by the player from the candidatecharacters positioned at the character positioning areas, respectively,as described above.

Here, according to a game rule, a limitation is provided in selectingthe characters to actually participate in the battle (or a battle turn)in this embodiment. That is, only the combination of the candidatecharacters positioned at the combination of the boxes of the matrixdefined in the “selectable combination” can be selectable.

(Example of Selecting Character) (Character Positioning)

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an example of a character positioningscreen 700 displayed on the screen display unit 14 of the terminaldevice 1.

The character positioning screen 700 includes a character board 705, a“LIST” button 702 for displaying the possessing character list, an “AUTObutton 703 and an “OK” button 704.

Prior to starting the battle game, the player selects candidatecharacters from the characters included in the possessing character listand positions the characters at boxes of the character board 705,respectively. The character board 705 corresponds to the characterpositioning areas (matrix), as illustrated in FIG. 6A.

Specifically, the player selects (taps, for example) one of the boxes(701, for example) of the character board 705 in the characterpositioning screen 700 at which a candidate character is to bepositioned. Subsequently, the player taps the “LIST” button 702.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating an example of a possessing character list800.

When the “LIST” button 702 in the character positioning screen 700illustrated in FIG. 7 is selected, the possessing character list 800 isdisplayed. The player selects one of the characters (801, for example)to be positioned at the selected box 701, from the possessing characterlist 800.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating another example of the characterpositioning screen 700.

When the character 801 in the possessing character list 800 illustratedin FIG. 8 is selected, the character positioning screen 700 is displayedagain. As illustrated in FIG. 9, an image of the character 801 isdisplayed in the box 701.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating another example of the characterpositioning screen 700.

Similarly, the player repeats an operation of positioning a character ata box of the character board 705 in the character positioning screen700. As a result, as illustrated in FIG. 10, nine characters, at themaximum, can be positioned at nine boxes of the character board 705,respectively. When the player completes the operation of characterpositioning, the player selects (taps) the “OK” button 704.

When the player selects (taps) the “AUTO” button 703, nine charactersselected from the possessing character list may be automaticallypositioned at the nine boxes of the character board 705.

Further, the operation of character positioning is not limited to theabove described example. For example, one of the characters may beselected from the “possessing character list” illustrated in FIG. 8,first, and then the box at which the character is to be positioned maybe selected as illustrated in FIG. 7. In this case as well, as a result,an image of the character 801 is positioned (displayed) at the box 701as illustrated in FIG. 9.

(Character Selection)

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an example of a character selectionscreen 1100 a.

When the player completes the operation of character positioning, theplayer actually starts the battle game. The character selection screen1100 a illustrated in FIG. 11 includes a battle scene that is startedwhen the player meets enemies 1101 in the battle game.

In the character selection screen 1100, the character board 705 at whichcandidate characters are positioned is also displayed. The candidatecharacters positioned at the character board 705 are selected in advanceby the player, as described above.

Then, the player selects three characters, which actually participate inthe battle, from the nine candidate characters positioned at thecharacter board 705.

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating an example of another character selectionscreen 1100 b.

When selecting three characters to actually participate in the battle,as illustrated in FIG. 12, first, the player designates one of thecandidate characters (one of the boxes, 1200) by tapping operation, forexample. At this time, four operation assistance lines 1201 to 1204,each extending on the designated box 1200, are displayed.

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an example of another character selectionscreen 1100 c.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the player designates one of the operationassistance lines 1201 to 1204. As the operation assistance lines 1201 to1204 are displayed, guided by the operation assistance lines 1201 to1204, the player swipes or flicks, for example, along one of theoperation assistance lines 1201 to 1204 from the designated box 1200.

Here, it is exemplified that the player swipes in a right and loweroblique direction along the operation assistance line 1201. With thisoperation, the assistance line 1201 is designated. Here, the operationassistance line 1201 is designated when the player swipes the part ofthe operation assistance line 1201 along the direction in which theoperation assistance line 1201 extends. Thus, the operation assistanceline 1201 is designated when the player swipes the operation assistanceline 1201 in a left and upper oblique direction from the box 1200.

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating an example of another character selectionscreen 1100 d.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, by the above described operation, thecandidate characters positioned on the operation assistance line 1201are selected. That is, the candidate characters positioned on theoperation assistance line 1201 are selected as the selected combinationof characters to actually participate in the battle. The selectedcombination of characters includes the candidate character that isdesignated by the player first.

Generally, when selecting three characters that actually participate inthe battle, the player independently selects each of the threecharacters from characters included in the possessing character list,for example. Thus, it takes a time for the player to select the threecharacters. However, according the present embodiment, the player is toonly designate one of the candidate characters positioned at thecharacter board 705 and designate a direction along one of the displayedoperation assistance lines for selecting three characters to actuallyparticipate in the battle. With this operation, a plurality of thecharacters positioned on the selected operation assistance line,including the designated one of the candidate characters, are selected.

Thus, the player can quickly select the plurality of characters. Morespecifically, the player is only to perform a series of simpleoperations of tapping and swiping. Further, as a plurality of operationassistance lines extending along the designated character as a basepoint in multiple directions are displayed, the player can intuitivelydetermine the selectable characters.

Further, according to the game rule, the selectable characters arelimited to the candidate characters that are positioned on one of theoperation assistance lines extending from the designated characterhaving the designated character as the base point. As the charactershave different abilities as described above, it is necessary for theplayer to strategically position the characters at the character board705 by considering the abilities of the characters. Thus, interesting inthe game is further increased.

As a specific strategy, a character having the strongest ability may bepositioned at a center box of the matrix of the character board 705 andcharacters each having the next strongest ability may be positioned atthe corner boxes of the matrix of the character board 705, for example.With this strategy, the character positioned at the center box has thehighest chance to participate in the battle because the character can beselected in combinations of boxes aligned on operation assistance linesextending in the vertical direction, lateral direction, and obliquedirections.

FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B are views illustrating an example of characterselection screens 1100 e and 1100 f, respectively.

Similar to the above described method, when selecting three charactersto participate in the battle, first, the player designates (taps) one ofthe candidate character to actually participate in the battle.

For the case illustrated in FIG. 15A, operation assistance lines 1501 to1503 (three in total) each extending along a designated box 1500 a asthe base point are displayed. For the case illustrated in FIG. 15B,operation assistance lines 1504 and 1505 (two in total) each extendingalong a designated box 1500 b as the base point are displayed.Subsequently, the player can select the three characters to actuallyparticipate in the battle by performing an operating (swiping orflicking, for example) along one of the displayed operation assistancelines.

Here, when selecting three characters to participate in the battle, aplurality of groups of characters may be selected in one selection phase(three groups for each turn, for example). At this time, as well, theplayer is only to perform a series of simple operations of tapping andswiping for selecting the three characters for each of the groups.Further, the player is capable of selecting the same character multipletimes in different groups. Thus, it is possible for the player to havethe stronger character participate in successive battles. Thus, it isnecessary for the player to strategically select the characters and thequality of the game is further increased.

When one of the candidate characters is designated by the player, theoperation assistance line generation unit 122 generates operationassistance lines extending along the designated character having thedesignated character as the base point toward directions of thecharacter positioning areas (boxes, for example) at which othercharacters are positioned. In this embodiment, as described above, amatrix having 3×3 boxes is used for the character positioning areas toposition candidate characters. Thus, lines extending in a verticaldirection, a lateral direction and/or oblique (diagonal) directions arenecessarily generated as the operation assistance lines.

However, the character positioning areas are not limited to regularlyand orderly aligned areas such as the matrix having 3×3 boxes. Forexample, the character positioning areas may be randomly placed areas.At this time, a line extending along the designated character having thedesignated character as the base point and extending in a directionamong 360 degree may be used as an operation assistance line.

Further, as described above, the characters on the designated operationassistance line are selected as the selected combination of charactersto actually participate in the battle. However, the number of charactersthat are selected may vary in accordance with the positions of thecandidate characters. Especially, when the character positioning areasare randomly placed areas, the number of candidate characters positionedon each of the operation assistance lines varies and thus the number ofcharacters that are selected may vary.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the operation assistancelines may not be displayed. The operation assistance lines are displayedin order to assist the operation of the player. Thus, for example, whenthe player is used to playing the battle game, the player may set “notto display the operation assistance lines”, for example, so that theoperation assistance lines are not displayed.

At this time, the player may select three characters to actuallyparticipate in the battle by, first, tapping one of the candidatecharacters to designate, and then performing an operation (swiping orflicking, for example) in a vertical direction, a lateral directionand/or oblique (diagonal) directions from the designated characterhaving the designated character as the base point, without using theoperation assistance lines.

(Operation)

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation ofthe embodiment for the application type.

When the player requests a character positioning screen (see FIG. 7, forexample) for character positioning, under control of the characterposition setting unit 121 of the game logic processing unit 12, theserver accessing unit 13 sends a request to send a possessing characterlist with player ID to the game processing server 4 (step S101).

Upon accepting the request to send the possessing character list, therequest processing unit 41 of the game processing server 4 obtainsinformation about possessing characters from the player informationdatabase 43 (see FIG. 5B, for example) via the player informationmanagement unit 42 using the player ID accepted with the request as akey. Then, the request processing unit 41 of the game processing server4 sends the obtained information about possessing characters to theterminal device 1 (step S102).

Then, the screen display unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays thecharacter positioning screen (step S103). Specifically, the screendisplay unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays the characterpositioning screen 700 as illustrated in FIG. 7.

At the terminal device 1, when a candidate character and its position atthe character positioning areas are input by the player (see FIG. 7 andFIG. 8, for example), the player operation input unit 11 accepts theinformation (step S104).

The character position setting unit 121 of the terminal device 1 storesthe input candidate character in association with the input position atthe character positioning areas, (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, for example)(step S105). Specifically, with reference to FIG. 6B, for example, thecharacter position setting unit 121 stores character ID of the inputcandidate character in the “positioned character ID” in association withthe respective identifier of the input position (box) in the “box inmatrix” of the table stored in the character position setting datastoring unit 15. The processes of steps S104 and S105 are repeated untilthe candidate characters are selected for all of the boxes of thematrix, all of the possessing characters are selected, or the like.

Thereafter, when the player operates the terminal device 1 to start thebattle game, under control of the game logic processing unit 12, theserver accessing unit 13 sends a request to start the battle game withplayer ID to the game processing server 4 (step S106). At this time, theserver accessing unit 13 may send information relating to the candidatecharacters and their positions, in association with each other (thetable illustrated in FIG. 6B, for example), to the game processingserver 4 side.

At the game processing server 4, the display image generation unit 411of the request processing unit 41 generates various scenes in accordancewith progressions of the battle game and sends the generated scenes tothe terminal device 1. Further, when a battle is started, the displayimage generation unit 411 of the request processing unit 41 generates abattle scene screen and sends it to the terminal device 1 (step S107).

Alternatively, for the application type, the function of the terminaldevice 1 side, and the various scenes including the battle scene screenmay be generated as the terminal device 1 side.

The screen display unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays the battlescene screen (step S108). The battle scene screen includes the characterboard 107 in which the characters are positioned. Specifically, thescreen display unit 14 displays the character selection screen 1100 a asillustrated in FIG. 11.

At the terminal device 1, when one of the candidate characters in thecharacter board 107 is designated by the player (see FIG. 12, forexample), the player operation input unit 11 accepts the information(step S109).

When the designation of the one of the candidate characters is accepted,the operation assistance line generation unit 122 of the terminal device1 generates operation assistance lines that extends along the designatedcharacter as the base point toward directions in which the characterpositioning areas (the boxes of the matrix) where other characters arepositioned, and displays the generated operation assistance lines on thescreen of the screen display unit 14 (step S110). Specifically, theoperation assistance line generation unit 122 displays the characterselection screen 1100 b as illustrated in FIG. 12.

At this time, the operation assistance line generation unit 122 mayrefer to the table for storing the candidate characters positioned atthe character positioning areas, respectively, as illustrated in FIG.6B, stored in the character position setting data storing unit 15. Then,the operation assistance line generation unit 122 may generate operationassistance lines that pass the boxes defined in the “selectablecombination” corresponding to the identifier of the box of thedesignated character in the “box in matrix” based on the data of the“selectable combination” (see FIG. 6B, for example).

At the terminal device 1, when one of the operation assistance lines isdesignated by the player (see FIG. 13, for example), the playeroperation input unit 11 accepts the information (step S111).

When one of the candidate characters is designated and one of theoperation assistance lines (direction information from the designatedcharacter as the base point) is designated, the character selection unit123 of the terminal device 1 selects the characters (including thedesignated character) positioned at the character positioning areas(boxes of the matrix, for example) on the designated operationassistance line (on the line or in the vicinity of the line) as thecombination of characters to actually participate in the battle (stepS112) (see FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, for example).

At the terminal device 1, under control of the character selection unit123 of the game logic processing unit 12, the server accessing unit 13sends the combination of characters to actually participate in thebattle, in other words, the plurality of characters selected in stepS112, with player ID to the game processing server 4 (step S113).

The request processing unit 41 of the game processing server 4 performsa battle process between the selected plurality of characters, as battlemembers of the player, against the enemy characters (step S114).

The request processing unit 41 of the game processing server 4 sends abattle process result, to the terminal device 1 (step S115). The battleprocess result is a battle scene screen in which the battle processresult is reflected, generated by the display screen generation unit411, for example.

The screen display unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays the battlescene screen (result) (step S116). For example, the statuses of thecharacters are changed when the HP or the MP of the characters on theplayer side or the enemy characters are consumed or the like by thebattle process. Further, for example, when the battle is finished andthe result (victory or defeat) is determined, the result is displayed.

Another Embodiment

In the above embodiment, a case of the application type in which theterminal device 1 executes the game logic based on the applicationpreviously downloaded and installed is explained. Next, as anotherembodiment, a case of the browser type in which the terminal device 1performs the game logic based on page data described in a Hyper TextMarkup Language (HTML) or the like and scripts or the like included inthe page data sent from the game processing server apparatus 4 isexplained.

(Function)

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a functionalstructure of the terminal device 1 and the game processing server 4 ofthe embodiment. The functions of the character position setting unit121, the operation assistance line generation unit 122, the characterselection unit 123 and the character position setting data storing unit15 of the terminal device 1 illustrated in FIG. 4 are provided at thegame processing server 4 side.

Specifically, the request processing unit 41 of the game processingserver 4 includes a character position setting unit 412, an operationassistance line generation unit 413 and a character selection unit 414.The game processing server 4 includes a character position setting datastoring unit 15.

The character position setting unit 412 has a function to position andset a plurality of candidate characters to participate in a battle game,which are selected by the player, at a plurality of predeterminedcharacter positioning areas (a matrix including 3×3 boxes, for example)provided for positioning the characters before starting the battle game,in response to a request from the terminal device 1.

When one of the characters is designated by an input operation of theplayer at the terminal device 1 after the battle is started, theoperation assistance line generation unit 413 receives the inputoperation and generates an operation assistance line extending along thedesignated character as the base point and extending in a directiontoward the character positioning area at which another character ispositioned. The generated operation assistance line is reflected in ascreen generated by the display image generation unit 411. Then, screendata generated by the display image generation unit 411 is sent to theterminal device 1 as a response and is displayed on the screen displayunit 14 of the terminal device 1.

When one of the candidate characters is designated and a direction fromthe designated character having the designated character (input by theoperation assistance line, for example) as the base point is designatedby an input operation by the player at the terminal device 1 after thebattle is started, the character selection unit 123 receives the inputoperation and selects the designated character and character(s)positioned at the character positioning area(s) (box(es), for example)on the selected direction (on the operation assistance line, forexample) (on the line or in the vicinity of the line) as the selectedcombination of characters to actually participate in the battle. Theselected process result is once reflected on a screen generated by thedisplay image generation unit 411 and then sent to the terminal device 1as a response to be displayed on the screen display unit 14 of theterminal device 1.

(Operation)

FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation ofthe embodiment for the browser type.

When the player requests a character positioning screen (see FIG. 7, forexample) for character positioning, under control of the game logicprocessing unit 12, the server accessing unit 13 sends a request to setcharacter positioning with player ID to the game processing server 4(step S201).

At the game processing server 4, upon accepting the request to setcharacter positioning, the character position setting unit 412 of therequest processing unit 41 obtains information about possessingcharacters from the player information database 43 (see FIG. 5B, forexample) via the player information management unit 42 using the playerID accepted with the request as a key. Then, the display screengeneration unit 411 generate a character positioning screen including apossessing character list and sends it to the terminal device (stepS202).

The screen display unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays thecharacter positioning screen (step S203). Specifically, the screendisplay unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays the characterpositioning screen 700 as illustrated in FIG. 7 and the possessingcharacter list 800 as illustrated in FIG. 8.

At the terminal device 1, when a candidate character and its position atthe character positioning areas, are input by the player (see FIG. 7 andFIG. 8, for example), the player operation input unit 11 accepts theinformation.

The server accessing unit 13 of the terminal device 1 sends the input bythe player to the game processing server 4 (step S205).

At the game processing server 4, the character position setting unit 412of stores the input candidate character in association with the inputposition at the character positioning areas, (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10,for example) (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, for example) (step S206).Specifically, with reference to FIG. 6B, for example, the characterposition setting unit 121 stores character ID of the input candidatecharacter in the “positioned character ID” in association with therespective identifier of the input position (box) in the “box in matrix”of the table stored in the character position setting data storing unit15. The processes of steps S204 to S206 are repeated until the candidatecharacters are selected for all of the boxes of the matrix, all of thepossessing characters are selected, or the like.

The display screen generation unit 411 of the request processing unit 41generates the character positioning screen in which the candidatecharacters are positioned at the character positioning areas,respectively, and sends it to the terminal device 1 (step S207).

Thereafter, when the player operates the terminal device 1 to start thebattle game, under control of the game logic processing unit 12, theserver accessing unit 13 sends a request to start the battle game withplayer ID to the game processing server 4 (step S208).

At the game processing server 4, the display screen generation unit 411of the request processing unit 41 generates various scenes in accordancewith progressions of the battle game and sends the generated scenes tothe terminal device 1. Further, when a battle is started, the displayimage generation unit 411 of the request processing unit 41 generates abattle scene screen and sends it to the terminal device 1 (step S208).The battle scene screen includes the character board 107 at which thecandidate characters are positioned.

The screen display unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays the battlescene screen (step S210). Specifically, the screen display unit 14displays the character selection screen 1100 a as illustrated in FIG.11.

At the terminal device 1, when one of the candidate characters in thecharacter board 107 is designated by the player (see FIG. 12, forexample), the player operation input unit 11 accepts the information(step S211).

The server accessing unit 13 of the terminal device 1 sends the input bythe player to the game processing server 4 (step S212).

When the designation of the one of the candidate characters is accepted,the operation assistance line generation unit 413 of the game processingserver 4 generates operation assistance lines that extends along thedesignated character as the base point toward directions in which thecharacter positioning areas (the boxes of the matrix) where othercharacters are positioned (step S213).

At this time, the operation assistance line generation unit 413 mayrefer to the table for storing the candidate characters positioned atthe character positioning areas, respectively, as illustrated in FIG.6B, stored in the character position setting data storing unit 15. Then,the operation assistance line generation unit 413 may generate operationassistance lines that pass the boxes defined in the “selectablecombination” based on the data in the “selectable combination”corresponding to the identifier of the box of the designated characterin the “box in matrix” based on the data of the “selectable combination”(see FIG. 6B, for example).

The display screen generation unit 411 of the request processing unit 41generates a battle scene screen including the generated operationassistance lines and sends it to the terminal device 1 (step S214).Alternatively, only the generated operation assistance lines may be sentto the terminal device 1 in order to reduce the amount of the data.

The screen display unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays the battlescene screen including the operation assistance lines (step S215) (seeFIG. 12, for example).

When only the generated operation assistance lines are received, thecurrently received operation assistance lines are used as a differentialimage so that the screen display unit 14 may overlap the currentlyreceived operation assistance lines on the battle scene screen, which ispreviously received, to display them together.

At the terminal device 1, when one of the operation assistance lines isdesignated by the player (see FIG. 13, for example), the playeroperation input unit 11 accepts the information (step S216).

The server accessing unit 13 of the terminal device 1 sends the input bythe player to the game processing server 4 (step S217).

At the game processing server 4, when one of the characters isdesignated and one of the operation assistance lines (directioninformation from the designated character having the designatedcharacter as the base point) is designated, the character selection unit414 of the request processing unit 41 selects the characters (includingthe designated character) positioned at the character positioning areas(boxes of the matrix, for example) on the designated operationassistance line (on the line or in the vicinity of the line) as thecombination of characters to actually participate in the battle (stepS218) (see FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, for example).

The request processing unit 41 of the game processing server 4 performsa battle process between the selected plurality of characters as battlemembers of the player against the enemy characters (step S219).

The request processing unit 41 of the game processing server 4 sends abattle process result to the terminal device 1 (step S220). The battleprocess result is a battle scene screen in which the battle processresult is reflected, generated by the display screen generation unit411, for example.

The screen display unit 14 of the terminal device 1 displays the battlescene screen (result) (step S221). For example, the statuses of thecharacters are changed when the HP or the MP of the characters on theplayer side or the enemy characters are consumed or the like by thebattle process. Further, for example, when the battle is finished andthe result (victory or defeat) is determined, the result is displayed.

The above described sequences of the application type and the browsertype are just an example. The functions of the terminal device 1 and thegame processing server 4 may be arbitrarily altered in accordance withnecessity.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the followingadvantages can be obtained, for example.

(1) A player can select a plurality of characters by a series of simpleand quick operations of tapping and swiping, for example. Thus, as theselection is performed within a short period, the sense of being engagedor immersed in the battle scene may be retained and it is unnecessary tohave an opposite player in an on-line game wait for the selection.

(2) As a plurality of operation assistance lines extending along thedesignated character as a base point in multiple directions aredisplayed, the player can intuitively determine the selectablecharacters.

(3) Further, according to the game rule, the selectable characters arelimited to the characters that are positioned on one of the operationassistance lines extending along the designated character as the basepoint. As the characters have different abilities, it is necessary forthe player to strategically position the candidate characters atpredetermined character positioning areas by considering the abilitiesof the characters. Thus, interesting in the game is further increased.

The individual constituents of the terminal device 1 and the gameprocessing server 4 may be embodied by arbitrary combinations ofhardware and software, typified by a CPU of an arbitrary computer, amemory, a program loaded in the memory so as to embody the constituentsillustrated in the drawings, a storage unit for storing the program suchas a hard disk, and an interface for network connection. It may beunderstood by those skilled in the art that methods and devices for theembodiment allow various modifications.

According to the embodiments, a game providing apparatus and a recordingmedium by which a player can strategically select characters with ashort period can be provided.

Although a preferred embodiment of the terminal device 1 and the gameprocessing server 4 has been specifically illustrated and described, itis to be understood that minor modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theclaims.

The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosedembodiments, and numerous variations and modifications and modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

In the above embodiment, a matrix having 3×3 boxes, where each of theboxes has a four-square shape, is exemplified as the characterpositioning areas (a character board, for example). However, thecharacter positioning areas are not limited to a matrix having boxes ofthe four-square shape.

FIG. 19A to FIG. 19C are respective views illustrating alternativeexamples of the character positioning areas.

In FIG. 19A, the character positioning areas are a matrix having 4×3boxes. In this example, four candidate characters may be selected onlywhen an operation assistance line extending in the lateral direction, asillustrated. The selectable number of the characters is determined by agame rule.

In FIG. 19B, the character positioning areas are a matrix having 3×3boxes, where each of the boxes has a rhombus shape.

In FIG. 19C, the character positioning areas are a plurality of circleareas that are randomly placed. At this time, operation assistancelines, in multiple directions, extending on the tapped candidatecharacter as the base point and at least one of other candidatecharacters, are displayed, as illustrated. Thus, at this time, thenumber of candidate characters positioned on each of the operationassistance lines is different for each of the operation assistancelines, and the number of the selected candidate characters may not beconstant. Rather, in this example, by arbitrarily positioning candidatecharacters within a predetermined frame area, not fixing boxes, thenumber of characters that can participate in the battle may vary inaccordance with the position of the designated character and thedesignated operation assistance line. At this time, the player canadvantageously position candidate characters by arbitrarily positioningthe candidate characters, under a limited condition such as beforestarting the battle (before meeting enemies) or the like (improvement ina strategic operation).

Further, in the above alternative examples, the operation assistancelines may not be displayed. For example, when the player is used toplaying the battle game, the player may set “not to display theoperation assistance lines”, for example, so that the operationassistance lines are not displayed.

At this time, the player may select characters to actually participatein the battle by, first, tapping one of the candidate characters todesignate, and then performing an operation (swiping or flicking, forexample) in a direction where at least one of the other candidatecharacters exists from the designated character having the designatedcharacter as the base point, without using the operation assistancelines. With this operation, the designated character and the candidatecharacter(s) exist on a line extending in the direction operated by theplayer are selected as the selected combination of characters toactually participate in the battle.

FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B are respective views illustrating alternativeexamples of the character positioning areas.

In these examples, the character positioning areas are displayed at aposition facing the enemy characters. With this configuration, realisticin the battle can be further improved.

In FIG. 20A, frame lines of the matrix are not displayed. With thisconfiguration, the player may feel that the character candidates arepositioned in a battlefield in front of the enemy characters, not thecharacter board so that the realistic feeling in a battle scene can beincreased.

In FIG. 20B as well, frame lines of the matrix are not displayed.Further, candidate characters (character positioning areas) are to bearbitrarily positioned within a predetermined frame area, not fixingboxes, as illustrated in FIG. 19C. At this time, the player canadvantageously position candidate characters by arbitrarily positioningthe candidate characters, under a limited condition such as beforestarting the battle (before meeting enemies) or the like (improvement ina strategic operation).

Alternatively, the predetermined plurality of character positioningareas are provided to have a matrix having n×n boxes, where “n”expresses the number of friend characters capable of actuallyparticipating in a battle.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium having recorded thereon a program that causes a computer, whichis a terminal device connected to a game providing apparatus to becapable of having communication with the game providing apparatus toperform a game in which a player selects a plurality of characters toparticipate in the game, to execute functions comprising: a screendisplay function that displays a plurality of character positioningareas at which a plurality of characters are to be positioned,respectively, and a plurality of characters positioned at the pluralityof character positioning areas, respectively; and a character selectionfunction that selects, when one of the characters is designated and adirection from the designated character having the designated characteras a base point is designated, the designated character and thecharacter positioned at the character positioning area that are in thedesignated direction, as a combination of characters to actuallyparticipate in the battle.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium according to claim 1, wherein the character positioningareas are a matrix including a predetermined number of boxes in a columndirection and a predetermined number of boxes in a row direction, andwherein the character selection function selects, when a characterpositioned at one of the boxes is designated and the column direction,the row direction, or an oblique direction from the designated characterhaving the designated character as the base point is designated, thedesignated character and the character positioned at the box in thedesignated direction, as the combination of characters to actuallyparticipate in the battle.
 3. The non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium according to claim 2, wherein the matrix includes threeboxes in the column direction and three boxes in the row direction. 4.The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim1, the functions further comprising: an operation assistance linegeneration function that generates, when one of the characters isdesignated, an operation assistance line extending from the designatedcharacter having the designated character as the base point in adirection toward at least one of the character positioning areas onwhich another character is positioned, and has the screen displayfunction display the operation assistance line, wherein the direction isdesignated by designating the operation assistance line, and wherein thecharacter selection function selects the characters positioned at thecharacter positioning areas that are on the designated operationassistance line including the designated character, as the combinationof characters to actually participate in the battle.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 4,wherein the terminal device includes a touch type input unit, andwherein the character is designated by a tapping operation to thecharacter and the direction is designated by a swiping or flickingoperation along the operation assistance line.
 6. The non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, the functionsfurther comprising: a position setting function to set a plurality ofcharacters at the character positioning areas, and wherein the characterselection function selects the designated character while performing thebattle game.
 7. The non-transitory computer-readable recording mediumaccording to claim 1, wherein the plurality of characters have differentgame effects, respectively.
 8. A game providing apparatus connected to aterminal device to be capable of having communication with the terminaldevice to provide a game in which a player selects a plurality ofcharacters to participate in the game, comprising: a display imagegeneration unit that synthesizes a plurality of character positioningareas at which a plurality of characters are to be positioned,respectively, and a plurality of characters positioned at the pluralityof character positioning areas, respectively, to have the terminaldevice display the synthesized image; and a character selection unitthat selects, when one of the characters is designated and a directionfrom the designated character having the designated character as a basepoint is designated by the terminal device, the designated character andthe character positioned at the character positioning area that are inthe designated direction, as a combination of characters to actuallyparticipate in the battle.
 9. The game providing apparatus according toclaim 8, wherein the character positioning areas are a matrix includinga predetermined number of boxes in a column direction and apredetermined number of boxes in a row direction, and wherein thecharacter selection unit selects, when a character positioned at one ofthe boxes is designated and the column direction, the row direction, oran oblique direction from the designated character having the designatedcharacter having the designated character as the base point isdesignated by the terminal device, the designated character and thecharacter positioned at the character positioning area that are in thedesignated direction, as a combination of characters to actuallyparticipate in the battle.
 10. The game providing apparatus according toclaim 9, wherein the matrix includes three boxes in the column directionand three boxes in the row direction.
 11. The game providing apparatusaccording to claim 8, further comprising: an operation assistance linegeneration unit that generates, when one of the characters is designatedby the terminal device, an operation assistance line extending from thedesignated character having the designated character as the base pointin a direction toward at least one of the character positioning areas onwhich another character is positioned, and has the terminal devicedisplay the operation assistance line, wherein the direction isdesignated by designating the operation assistance line, and wherein thecharacter selection unit selects the characters positioned at thecharacter positioning areas that are on the designated operationassistance line including the designated character, as the combinationof characters to actually participate in the battle.
 12. The gameproviding apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: a positionsetting unit to set a plurality of characters at the characterpositioning areas, and wherein the character selection unit selects thedesignated character while performing the battle game.
 13. The gameproviding apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the plurality ofcharacters have different game effects, respectively.